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Daily Digest

Tickets on Sale for New Memphis Wine Event

Tickets are now on sale for Vintage901, a new wine festival coming to Memphis March 10-12.

Each day of the event will represent a unique wine, food and music experience.

The March 10 event, Opening Toast and Perfect Pairings, will be hosted at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts, 225 S. Main St., from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event’s grand sommelier, Laurie Forster, will present the opening toast at the start of a three-course dinner provided by Restaurant Iris, and entertainment will be provided by international jazz sensation Monty Alexander.

The March 11 Grand Tasting will feature wine tasting with selections prepared by Forster. Food demonstrations, food trucks and vendors will be on site at the Creative Arts Building on Tiger Lane from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and entertainment will be provided by Atlanta salsa group Willie Ziavino and the C.O.T. Band.

The March 12 closing event, Sparkling Brunch, gives guests two locations to choose from, both from noon until 2 p.m. The first event features Memphis Stax Academy jazz instructor Stephen Lee and his trio at the FedEx Center at Shelby Farms, 415 Great View Drive E. The second event will be hosted at Belle: A Southern Bistro, 117 Union Ave., and will feature Memphis pop/soul artist Nick Black and his band.

A three-day pass to Vintage901 is $375 and includes access to all three events. Tickets are also available a la carte for each day: $225 for Friday’s Perfect Pairing, $87.50 for Saturday’s Grand Tasting and $87.50 for Sunday’s Sparkling Brunch. Payment plans are also available.

Tickets can be purchased at vintage901.eventbrite.com, and proceeds will benefit the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis.

– Andy Meek

Rhodes Among Kiplinger’s ‘Best Value’ Colleges

Rhodes College has landed at No. 43 on the list of 100 Best Values in Liberal Arts Colleges as ranked by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, and it’s No. 74 among the 300 colleges ranked overall.

The overall list includes public, private and liberal arts colleges.

Kiplinger’s criteria for academic quality include a competitive admission rate, a high four-year graduation rate and a low student-faculty ratio. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid and average debt at graduation.

The rankings will appear in the February issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and are available online.

– Andy Meek

Humane Society Wins Grant For Anti-Cruelty Program

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has awarded the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County a $10,050 grant to fund a pilot program to help investigate local animal cruelty.

The pilot project is aimed at providing education and outreach to recognize and address animal cruelty. J. Morgret, criminal investigator with the local humane society, will train and educate individuals that routinely visit Shelby County residents about the HSMSC anti-cruelty program. Through this program, HSMSC plans to provide two on-site trainings with educational materials, increase cruelty investigation calls, and increase the number of animals removed and placed with HSMSC in 2017.

In addition to supporting the program, the ASPCA grant will fund the purchase of a bulletproof vest and body camera to increase the officer’s safety.

“This grant will allow us to expand our cruelty investigations and provide more resources to the general public, which ultimately benefits the animals within our community,” said HSMSC development manager Amanda Harris in a written statement. “We are grateful for the work the ASPCA does throughout the country and are excited to be awarded with such a generous gift for this anti-cruelty program.”

In 2015, the HSMSC’s Office of Criminal Investigations responded to 1098 calls for service, rescued 120 animals over the course of 620 investigations, and made 27 arrests. HSMSC takes appropriate action on every case of potential cruelty reported. Anyone wishing to report cruelty can use the report cruelty tab at memphishumane.org, email reportcruelty@memphishumane.org or call the cruelty hotline at 901-937-3910.

– Daily News staff

Collierville Gets State Grant For Roving DUI Patrol

The Collierville Police Department’s roving DUI patrol program has $20,000 more in funding through a state grant awarded in October.

The directed patrol is aimed at deterring and detecting impaired driving as well as stopping drivers for traffic and equipment violations such as broken turn signals.

The funding is part of $17.1 million awarded to 384 agencies in all by the state. It is federal pass-through funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Those who received the grants had to apply for them.

– Bill Dries

Varsity Spirit Surpasses $4M in Funds for St. Jude

Memphis-based cheerleading and dance company Varsity Spirit reports it has raised more than $4 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since 2011.

The company, a division of Varsity Brands, is a leader in uniform innovation and educational camps, clinics and competitions, impacting nearly a million athletes each year.

Through the Team Up for St. Jude Spirited by Varsity letter-writing campaign, 350,000 teens who attend annual cheer and dance camps write letters asking their friends and family to donate to St. Jude. Varsity Spirit also sponsors the St. Jude Game Day campaign, which urges schools across the country to turn their football or basketball games into fundraising opportunities.

Among the company’s other fundraising efforts in 2016, Varsity Spirit announced in September it had signed on as the official training sponsor of The Sparkle Effect and pledged $50,000 to the national nonprofit, which helps schools train cheerleading and dance teams that bring together students with and without disabilities.

The company donated $15,000 to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk and was its Finish Line sponsor. The donation included proceeds from the “Let’s Go Pink” line of pink accessories and uniforms, which has raised more than $60,000 for the American Cancer Society in four years.

And it gave more than $50,000 to schools nationwide through the 2016 Varsity Brands School Spirit Awards, which recognize students, athletes, faculty and administrators who strive to foster school pride, student engagement and community spirit.